The Interview Editors
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, has said innovations and development of electronic platforms for financial transactions has totally reformed banking in Nigeria.
Speaking on Tuesday at the launch of the 2020 Innovation Week, Danbatta said the banking revolution had made it possible to make instant transfer of cash, reducing the waiting time for those in rural areas and taking more transaction off banking halls and on handheld devices.
In his address during the launch, Danbatta said, “This innovative Tech Forum is another avenue for us at the Commission to intimate the general public and tech ecosystem about NCC’s plans for rebooting the economy following disruptions occasioned by the global COVID-19 Pandemic.
“I consider the theme of the 2020 Nigeria Innovation Week: ‘Innovating in Critical Times” very relevant in view of the numerous challenges that the pandemic has thrown at national Governments, the ICT community and the health sector in particular.
He said, “For innovation to thrive as the anchor for accelerating economic growth post COVID-19, a robust broadband infrastructure upon which ICT innovations will ride, is a necessity and an urgent one at that.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we all are witnesses to the disruptions caused by the Covid19 pandemic to the global economy, and it is noteworthy to emphasize the important role ICT has played since this outbreak.”
Danbatta said, “Many of us have been forced to work from home; government services have moved to online portals; our kids now attend virtual classes; lectures and conferences are now virtual; e-commerce has seen a significant uptick and boom globally; online payment for goods and services have now increased threefold; logistics and delivery businesses have seen huge surge in demand for their services.
“The above services require fast broadband and reliable means of connectivity and the NCC has continued to work assiduously with our Stakeholders in ensuring that the nation’s ICT infrastructure is able to meet the increased demand for connectivity.”
The recent experiences caused by the pandemic, he said, underscored the need to continue to invest in research and innovation in order to find lasting solutions to current and emerging problems. He said it is in this spirit that the Commission has been supporting research efforts in our tertiary institutions.
The NCC chief executive said, “As important as all these are, there are questions about the safety of our cyberspace. With the preponderance of activities now happening online, the vulnerabilities of cyberspace have increased significantly.
“It is instructive to note that NCC adheres strictly with ITU guidelines for the global telecoms industry. We have officials at the Commission tasked with monitoring global trends to ensure that NCC is abreast of the changes and the emergence of new technologies.”
He said, “The Commission placed emphasis on growing the digital economy in collaboration with sister agencies under the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.
“Recognizing the need to entrench digital economy thinking in its operational activity, the Commission created the Digital Economy Department principally for implementing programmes and policies aimed at fully supporting and promoting the national digital economy agenda of the Federal Government.”
With the advent of the COVID-19, ICT he said, has become the major backbone for government activities and local businesses. “The re-direction of human traffic to online portals for major transactions as a result of social distancing also meant that cybercriminals have a larger audience and a much bigger playground to execute their nefarious activities,” Danbatta said.
According to him, the NCC, CBN, major financial institutions and Security Agencies, have diligently ensured that Nigeria’s Cyberspace is secured.
NCC he said had been the major linkage in the drive for optimum economic development, as it remains the pioneer for all the major disruptions that would drive the nation’s economic reboot, especially the financial systems riding on electronic innovations.
These innovations, he added are driven by the availability of a robust communications infrastructure made possible by the Commission’s continuous quest for investment in the sector.
He said, “Collaborative partnership between the NCC and the CBN has been very effective, leading to the development of various brands of electronic transaction models, which have totally reformed banking in Nigeria making it possible for instant cash transfers to folks in rural areas cutting out waiting times at banking halls and simplifying online transactions.
“Between 2015 and 2020, much has been done to put Nigeria on the global map of nations that are electronically driven while delivering financial intermediation. Together with our stakeholders from the banking sector, the NCC is actively involved in the application of various electronic portals that continue to drive transactions off banking floor and onto handheld devices or personal computers.”
